Rotary engine.



1. M. EVANS.

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. II. I913.

Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

jig. 1

5] mm wtoz $3M; Harm-a v. Q m

J. M. EVANS.

ROTARY ENGINE. I APPLICATION FILED FEB. II. I913.

Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

4 SHEETSSHEET 2.

MK/Human:

J. M. EVANS. ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 11. 1913- mm wm Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

4 SHEETSSHEET 3.

ifii; T

QR Mine/one o .J. M. EVANS.

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 11. 1913.

Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

O K md m @Wlliriilli Wbtweooeo: V ?y M JAMES M. Evans, on NEW "renn n.LY.

ROTARY ENGINE.

Application filed February 11, 1913. Serial No. 747,619.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES M. EVANS, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of the city, county, and State of New York,

have invented certain new and useful Inn provements in Rotary Engines,of whlch the. 5

following is a description.

My invention relates to the type of rotary engine shown in my LettersPatent No.

656,694 and 659,295, and has for its general object the improvement ofthe type of engine shown in these Letters Patent, so as to cheapen thecost of its manufacture and insure its more efiicient operation.

One of the objects of my invention is to so construct the cylinder,piston and cylinder heads that they may be cheaply manufactured andeasily assembled and so that all joints between the various portions ofthe cylinder and cylinder heads shall be steam ti ht. 1

l lnother object of my invention is to construct the piston so that itwill always operate to produce a steam tight joint between itself andthe cylinder walls and heads.

Another object of my invention is to construct the dividing partitionsand the elements cooperating therewith so that a steam tight joint willbe formed between the piston and the dividing partitions, and the d1-viding partitions will be relieved of pressure at their ends tending tobreak them or prevent their easy operation. Another object ofmyinvention is to so arrange the valves that any wear will be compensatedfor and that a variable out 01f of steam at the inletvalve may beeffected.

A further object of my invention is to prevent an uneven motion of thepiston as it passes over the recesses in the cylinder into which thedividing partitions fit.

The means used to attain the foregoing object tend to the production ofan engine of the rotary type which is durable, cheap to construct andsmooth and eflicient in operation. 2

The drawings accompanying this specification show my improved'rotaryengine 1n detail.

Figure 1 is an end view, partly in section, of my improved engine withthe exhaust cover, valve and head removed. Fig. 2 is a longitudinalsectional. view of my improved engine taken on the line H-H of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line HIHI of Fig. 2 looking inthe direction Specification of Letters Batent.

Patented Nov. a, rare.

my improved engine. F ig'; 4: is a corresponding view of the exhaustside of my improved engine taken onthe line 1V1Vo f Fig. 2 looking inthe direction of the arrow. 'Fig. 1s a view partly in section showingthe piston and valves more in detail. Fig. 6 is adetail view partly insection showing onev of the dividing partitions and a portion of thepiston. Fig. 7 is a detail view in section taken on the line VIll-VH ofFig. 6.

' Referring to Figs. 1 and 2,'it will be seen that my improved engineconsists essentially of a cylinder 1, in which is moun'tedarotatlng-roller piston 2, mounted upon the crank pin 3. 0f a'crank shaft4, which crank shaft is journaled in the cylinder head on'the inlet sideat 5 and in the cylinder head at the exhaust side at 6. Attached to thecylinder head and forming a steam chest at the inlet side is a cover 7and attached to the cylinder head at the exhaust side is a correspondingcover 8 through which the crank shaft 4 passes. Moving radially inaertures 9 in the cylinder heads and exten ing into enlarged pockets 10formed in extensions of the cylinder walls are three dividing partitions11, which carry shoes at their inner ends which have .sliding contactwith the surface of the rolling piston, as more fully hereinafterdescribed. These partitions thus dividethe cylinder into three equalsegmental parts. Communicating with each segmental portion of thecylinder is an inlet of the arrowand showing the inlet side of passage12 and an exhaust passage 13, which passages are controlled by rotatinginlet and exhaust valves 14 and 15 respectively.

In general the operation of my improved 'A.* .This admission commencesas soonas the piston which is moving in the direction of'the arrow haspassed the admission port near the top of this compartment and the steamcauses a pressure against the piston 2 causing it to roll in thedirection of the arrow, thus rotating the crank shaft 4, which carrieswith it the inlet valves 14: and ex -haust 15. This motion continues byreason of the steam in compartment A until-the inlet valve has reachedsuch a position that it will admit steam into compartment B, whichcontinues the motion in the direction of the arrow. This engine has afixed intake and a variable cut ofi'. When operating under average loadandthe inlet valves have.

reached such a position as to admit steam to compartment B, the steamwill be cut ofi from compartment A and will continue to and; thecompartment put in proper condition to receive steam through the inletvalve when this valve has again reached the inlet port of thecompartment. In the meantime compartments B and C will be going throughthe same operations as detailed with reference to compartment A. This,therefore, produces a continuous operation, each compartment in turnadmitting steam, cutting it off, operating by expansion and exhausting.

I shall now describe my engine more particularly.

The pist0n.The piston of my improved engine is mounted upon the crankpin 3 of crank shaft 4, preferably upon roller bearings 17 The crankshaft as described above is journaledin the cylinder heads at 5 and 6and is made in two parts, one part having a recess 18 into which entersa pin 19, the two parts being held together by means of a screw 20. Thepiston consists essentially of a core 21, outer members 22 and 23 and apacking ring 24. The core 21 is in the form of a hollow annulus, the.inner surface of which bears against the roller bearing 17. Theoutersurface of core 21 has two annular recesses 25 and 26 formed in ittoreceive outer members 22 and 23, and a groove in its outer surface 27to receive packing ring 24. It will be seen from the construction.described that the piston may be easily as-- sembled and when assembledforms a rigid and compact whole, which is kept steam tight by its ownaction. Thus, if the piston were not steam tight, steam would enter therecesses 30 and, passing back of the outer members 22 and 23, wouldforce them outwardly against the walls of the cylinder, thus making thejoint tight. The outer members 22 and 23 are complementary and areformed with teeth 28 at their inner edges, which teeth are adapted tointerlock and with slots 29 in their outer edges,'which slots carry thedividing partitions, as will hereafter be described. Packing ring 24 isa split ring which tends to expand and hold tightly against outermembers 22 and 23.

The eyZinder.The cylinder structure consists of two heads 31 and 32carrying bearings 5 and 6 in which shaft 4 is journaled' and a cylinder33 clamped between the two heads. The heads have annular grooves, as

shown at 34, for the reception of a ringshaped extension on the cylinder33. With this structure, the unequal expansion of the heads and cylindercauses these parts to interlock and be held together very strongly, thusmaking the cylinder absolutely steam tight. Attached to the head of thecylinder are the two covers 7 and8. Thecover 7 forms the inlet steamchest and cover 8 the exhaust. In cover 7 is a screw 35 for holding thesteam valve to its seats, as will be described, and in cover 8 is athrust bearing 36, which serves a similar purpose with re spect to theexhaust valve.

The 'valoes.Both the inlet and exhaust valves 14-and 15 are keyed to theshaft 4 so as to revolve with it, their position with respect to thepiston being thus fixed. Inlet valve 14, which is shown more in detailin 'Fig. 3, consists of a valve disk 37 having a the desired opening tothe inlet valve Inlet valve disk 37 carries a hub 39 which surrounds thebearing through which shaft 4 passes, which hub is keyed to shaft 4 asat 40. A steam tight joint is provided between extension 39 and theouter surface of bearing 5, by means of split rings 41, which are set ingrooves 42 upon the outer surface of the bearing and which tend toexpand against the inner surface of the extension 39. Attached to theouter surface of valve disk 37 is a cut off disk'43, which rests in agroove in the face of valve disk 37 and is held from movement in acircumferential direction by means of screws 44. This disk is providedwith a number of apertures 46, which are adapted to register with theapertures 38 in 37 and a different valve opening is thus produced. Thischange of relative position of the two disks 37 and 43 may beaccomplished either by means of an automatic governor or by hand throughthe medium of screws 44 as illustrated. A counter weight 62 is mountedon the hub 39 and is so constructed and disposed as to balance thepiston. The counter weight comprises at or near its outer edge aninwardly projecting portion 61', disposed at the side of the valveopposite the intake port.- The steam presses this portion of the valveinwardly due to the fact that two of the intake ports are closed and oneopen and tends to unbalance the valve. Q This is counteracted and anevenly balanced valve obtained due to the action of centrifugal force onthe projection 61 of the counter weight. I

The'exhaust valve consists of an exhaust valve disk 47, shown more indetail in Fig. 4, having apertures 48 therein, which are adapted toregister with corresponding exhaust ports. This exhaust valve disk 47has a hub 49 passing over and about the outer surface of bearing 6 inthe same manner as the inlet valve disk, which hub 49 is keyed to shaft4 as at 50.

In order to take up wear and insure that the joint between the exhaustvalve and the outlet ports shall always betight, I have constructed theexhaust ports in the following manner: Attached to the side of thecylinder wall is a disk 51 having a number of apertures in it of thesame general form as the exhaust ports, but of larger size. This disk isheld against the cylinder wall by means of screws 52, or any otherappropriate method of fastening. Underneath disk 51 and held against the.cylinder wall byit is a disk of flexible metal or other suitablematerial 53. Attached to disk 53 are the rims 53 of the exhaust ports54. These rims may be conveniently held in place by clamping the edge ofthe thin flexible disk 53 under a ring 55 which fits tightly within therim of the exhaust port 54. It will be seen that the pressure of steamacting against the flexible disk 53 forces it and the exhaust port rims54 carried by it outwardly against the face of exhaust valve disk 47,thus insuring a perfectly tight joint. In order to resist the tendencyto outward movement along the shaft thus produced, the thrust bearing 36is provided. It is to be understood thata counter weight, such as abovedescribed, may also be mounted on the exhaust side and the samearrangement may be employed to balance the exhaust valve if desired.

1 7m dividing partiti0ns.The dividing partitions, of which there arethree as indicated above, consist essentially of two side members 56, acentral member 57 and a hearing member 58. Each of side members 56 hasattached at its inner end a pin 59, which pin fits in a recess formed ina segmental block 60, which segmental block is adapted to slide in thegroove 29in outer member 22 or 23 of the piston. The piston may thus berotated with respect to the block and the block may be oscillated withrespect to the side members 56. Attached between members 56 and holdingthem in place is the central member 57 which is formed with a recess atits outer end, and a recess 61 at its inner end. Set into recess 61 isthe bearing member 58 which is thus permitted to move relatively to theother portions of the dividing partition. Rearing member 58 has attachedto its inner end a slotted rod 62, which fits into a bearing in the shoe63. This shoe is curved on its inner surface to fit the curvature of thepiston and is held against the surface of the piston by means of spring64, located in recess 61, which tends to force central member 57 of thedividing partition and bearing member 58 apart. Shoe 63 is provided withoff-set sides,

as show-nin Fig. 7, and similarly shaped apertures 65 are provided inthe cylinder walls'for the reception of these shoes. Slots 66 withinwhich dividing partitions 11 work are formed in each cylinder head. Itis thus apparent that the dividing partitions 11 mav move freely in aradial direction, their radial motion being regulated by the position ofthe rolling piston and that the piston may move freely with respect tothe partitions, asteam tight joint being obtained at the same time bymeans of shoe 63 and block 60, which shoe and block may freely oscillatewith respect to the partitions. It willbe noted that recess 10 is largerthan is necessary to accommodate the dividing partition and that recess60 has been provided in the end of the partition. These oppositelydisposed recesses prevent the partition becoming broken or deformed byreason of any water which may lodge in the recess 10, as it will beapparent. that whatever the position upon the cylinder of the recesses,a place always remains in which air is trapped, thus permitting freemotion of the partition in the recess by merely compressing the air. Theair pocket or recess 60 should, of course, be of such cross-section anddepth that it will normally contain a considerable volume of air, andupon movement of the partition into the recess 10 will receive waterwhich may have lodged in said recess. The water so received into the airpocket 60 acts as a water piston, compressing the air within the airpocket, and thus forming an air cushion within the air pocket. Theoffset formed shoe 63 is also important since it provides a smooth pathof travel for the rolling piston, and at the speeds at which my improvedengine is designed to operate, a smooth motion of the piston is verydesirable. It will be seen that the transition of the piston from thecylinder to the shoe is gradual.

I am aware that many modifications of my invention may be made withoutdeparting from its spirit and I therefore do not intend to confinemyself to the exact details shown and described. Also, although I havereferred to steam as being the fluid used in operating my engine, it is,of course, obvious that any other expansive fluid, such as air, might beused to operate it. I therefore wish to be understood as including theseand similar mediums when I refer to steam.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the kind described, a dividing partition having an airpocket in its outerv end and a recess adapted to be entered by saidpartition having an enlarged portion at its outer. end.

2. In a device of the kind described, a partition adapted to reciprocateinto and out of a recess, said partition being provided with an airpocket of suflicient size to receive water contained in therecess duringthe movement of the partition thereinto and thereby cushion suchmovement.

3. In a device of the kind described, a valve disk having an openingtherethrough and a cut oil disk having an opening adapted to registerwith the opening of the valvedisk and means for securing the cut oil?disk in any desired position relatively to the valve disk.

4. In a device of the kind described, a r0- tatable valve disk having anaperture therethrough, a cut ofl? disk having an aperture therethroughmounted upon and adapted to rotate with said valve disk and means forchanging the angular relation of the valve disk and cut ofl' disk.

5. In a device of the kind described, a rotatable valve, an openingtherein, a cylinder having a plurality of ports adapted to register insequence with said valve opening and a weight mounted on said valve andarranged so that centrifugal force acting on the weight will tend tobalance the uneven pressure of fluid on the valve.

6. In a device of the kind'described, a rotatable valve disk having acircular slot and an aperture, a cut ofl disk mounted in said slot andhaving an aperture adapted to register with the aperture of the valvedisk and means for securing the cutoff disk in.

any desired position. V

7. In a device of the kind described, a valve, a movable valve seat andmeans for holding the seat against the valve by the pressure of thefluid behind the valve.

8. In a device of the kind described, a cylinder head having a valveport, a disk of thin flexible material held against the cylinder headand a valve seat attached to the disk.

9. In a device of the kind described, a cylinder head having a valveport, a disk of thin flexible material having an aperture adapted toregister with the port, a valve seat mounted upon said disk and havingan aperture adapted to register with said port and a clamping diskhaving an aperture through which the valve seat is adapted to pass.

cylinder head, a disk of thin flexible material having an apertureadapted to register with said port, means for holding said disk againstthe cylinder wall, a valve seat attached to said disk and having anaperture adapted to register with the port and a r0- tating valve diskhaving apertures and adapted-to be rotated while in contact with thevalve seat.

11. In a device of the kind described, a cylinder head having a valveport, a disk of thin flexible material having an aperture adapted toregister with said port, a valve seat having an aperture adapted toregister with said port, a ring concentrically mounted Within said valveseat and adapted to hold the edges of the thin flexible disk against thevalve seat and a valve disk adapted to coeperate with said valve seat.

12. In a device of the kind described, a cylinder head having a port, arotatable valve disk, a movable valve seat adapted to be pressed againstthe valve disk by the pressure of the fluid within the cylinder and athrust bearing adapted to hold the valve disk against the pressure.

13. In a device of the kind described, a cylinder wall having a recessand a shoe in contact with the piston and adapted to enter said recess,said shoe having ofi'set sides. JAMES M. EVANS.

Witnesses:

JAMES J. Gosenovn, MARGARET MAGINTYRE.

10. In a device of the kind described, a i

